Rare metals are important in making high-tech products including electric vehicles, mobile phones and batteries. The metals lie in a seabed about 1,150 miles southeast of Tokyo. The seabed contains more than 16 million tonnes of rare earth oxides. The world has relied on China for almost all of its rare- earth metals.

1

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

This is a huge deal if it can be mined economically. China is a major supplier of rare earths right now but not the only one. The other is Australia, which produces about 10 percent of the world's supply.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

China has tightly controlled the world's supply for decades of these minerals used in almost everything, from smartphones and EV batteries to planes, defense and satellite rockets. But Japan's discovery could be a game-changer.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

The reality is these metals are not that rare. The current issue is there has been very little prospecting for metals that previously had limited use. There is a lot of analysis now of old core samples from mining and oil and gas operations to look for 'rare' metal deposits without having to actually go out in the field.